Jonathan Edwards: Wife assault MP reinstated after legal advice

A politician who assaulted his wife was reinstated as a Plaid Cymru MP after legal advice forced the party's ruling body to backtrack.

It had recommended Jonathan Edwards, who was cautioned after the assault at his home in 2020, should not be allowed to represent the party in the Commons.

Party splits emerged after a disciplinary panel gave the go-ahead for him to have his membership back.

Senior figures wanted Mr Edwards to be kept out of the Plaid MPs' group.

But the party announced on Wednesday that he would have the whip restored, despite confirming that a majority of its National Executive Committee (NEC) had recommend excluding him.

The same statement, issued by party chairwoman Beca Brown, said Mr Edwards was reinstated as a Plaid MP.

BBC Wales has been told the party received legal advice that the NEC's position was "unlawful".

One former member, who quit after Mr Edwards' membership was restored, said party officials should urge the MP to stand down.

Former leader Leanne Wood posted on Twitter that she was "disappointed" with the decision - she had called for Mr Edwards to be kept out of the party altogether.

Senior Plaid Member of the Senedd Sian Gwenllian, a member of the NEC, said in a Nation.Cymru article that it had "become apparent that our party's disciplinary procedures do not sufficiently differentiate between ordinary members and members who have been elected to positions of influence".

"So Jonathan Edwards can automatically resume his title of Plaid MP following the panel's announcement".

Ms Gwenllian, who backed the NEC recommendation, wrote that her view had not changed, and that if an elected politician had "severely damaged the integrity of our party... then that person should no longer represent the collective, democratic voice of our members".

The party is now reviewing whether any lessons can be learned from what happened.

Details of the incident at the MP's family home in May 2020 are not known.

Mr Edwards, who is now separated from his wife, has expressed "deep remorse" for his behaviour.

"The past two years have been a period of deep reflection in which I enrolled on a domestic violence awareness course which has helped me understand the impact my action had on others."

Julie Richards, a domestic abuse campaigner, quit Plaid Cymru because of the disciplinary panel's decision.

"As a party we should have dealt with this very early on and stuck to what I thought was our policy of zero tolerance [of domestic abuse] - that obviously hasn't happened," she said.

"I just feel uncomfortable being in the party.

"The impact of him continuing to stand in such a public arena just sends all the wrong messages to young boys, to men, to women and to victims domestic abuse."

It's clear that Jonathan Edward's return to Plaid Cymru has caused ructions within the party.

He has support from members of his constituency party and some high-profile figures who say he's a good MP and that his expressions of remorse should be accepted.

But other senior people in the party say zero tolerance is the only way to eradicate the societally entrenched problem of domestic abuse.

Whichever way you look at it, the fact remains that a majority of the party's ruling executive did not want him back and had their hand forced by legal advice.

Both sides are now battening down the hatches and hoping the storm will pass, but this has the potential to be a damaging split within the party.

Hazel Evans, a Plaid councillor in Carmarthenshire, said Mr Edwards was a "brilliant MP" and welcomed the decision to reinstate him.

"We have to have forgiveness somewhere," she said, adding "something had gone wrong" when the party's national executive intervened in the disciplinary process.

Betsan Jones, a county councillor and chairwoman of the party in Mr Edwards' constituency, said: "I support him and am pleased that he's had the whip restored to him and I think we can draw a line under this."

Domestic abuse charity Welsh Women's Aid said there was "epidemic-levels of gender-based violence" with 26,669 people referred to specialist services in the past year - up 19% on the year before.

"Parliament and parties across the political spectrum must make it clear that harassment, abuse, and violence are unacceptable, and must put an end to the antiquated systems and procedures that perpetuate this," it added.